Spotlight on Global Malnutrition: A Continuing Challenge in the 21st Century.

Malnutrition as undernutrition, overnutrition, or an imbalance of specific nutrients, can be found in all countries and in both community and hospital settings around the world. The prevalence of malnutrition is unacceptably high in all settings and affects children, adolescents, pregnant women, and sick and older adults. Malnutrition has multiple underlying issues (food insecurity, chronic and acute illnesses, sanitation and safety, and aging in the community), which need to be addressed.

[Reference values of energy for the Venezuelan population].

The project of updating the Venezuelan energy reference values respond to the recommendations made by an FAO experts committee, several decades ago for the countries assuming this work. Because of the dramatic changes experienced globally regarding energy intake/expenditure and particularly variations on the Venezuelan nutritional scenario with the presence of "the double burden of malnutrition" it a review of Energy Reference Values (VRE) from a more integral approach is pertinent. This report follows the methodology proposed by FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 experts committee and energy reference values were established by group of age and gender, also average energy values for Venezuelan population were obtained.